City Club Raleigh is closing after 45 years. Here’s what’s next for the downtown space
City Club Raleigh, a private club in the heart of downtown Raleigh, is closing permanently after 45 years.
The club, located on the 28th and 29th floors of the tower at 150 Fayetteville St., shared the news on social media Wednesday, Dec. 4.
“After considering numerous options for a viable path forward, we’ve made the very difficult decision to close City Club Raleigh,” the club wrote in the post.
New Year’s Eve will be its last day.
“It has been an honor to be a part of so many memorable experiences, and we are grateful for the relationships we’ve built along the way,” City Club Raleigh wrote in the post. “We remain proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and we wish everyone the best in their future endeavors.”
The club has more than 1,000 members, general manager Liz Miller told The News & Observer over the phone.
Miller added that she is working with sister clubs in the Triangle to find employment opportunities for City Club Raleigh staff. The downtown Raleigh club, along with Brier Creek Country Club, Devils Ridge Golf Club, Lochmere Golf Club and The Hasentree Club, are among more than 150 golf and country clubs and city clubs operated by Texas-based Invited.
What will happen to the City Club Raleigh space?
Smith Anderson, a law firm that already leases space in the building, will move into the top two floors, the firm announced in a press release. Smith Anderson will renovate the space, adding more than 20,000 square feet to its current 91,988-square-foot footprint. Construction is expected to begin in April 2025, with a targeted completion of mid-2026, according to the press release.
City Club Raleigh is not the first major tenant to leave the tower this year. Wells Fargo, which had a sign at the top of the building for more than a decade, decided not to renew its lease and shut its branch there as part of a “real estate consolidation,” The News & Observer previously reported, reassigning employees to workspace in other buildings.
Yet at least one new tenant, all-day restaurant Birdie’s Barroom & Kitchen, has recently opened in the building, which is owned by Highwoods Properties.
Around 137,000 square feet is available at the 150 Fayetteville tower, according to the property website.
Longtime tenant on Fayetteville Street
A decade ago, Texas-based Invited, formerly known as ClubCorp, began renovating the top two floors of the Fayetteville Street tower, which were occupied by the Cardinal Club at the time, The N&O previously reported.
The construction allowed Cardinal Club and Capital City Club, then on South Wilmington Street, to be consolidated into one location. The clubs had been “operating as a single club” for several years, The N&O reported.
The Cardinal Club was among the first tenants to move into what was then called Capitol Center, when the building was constructed in 1990, The N&O reported at the time.
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 3:44 PM with the headline "City Club Raleigh is closing after 45 years. Here’s what’s next for the downtown space."
